The Concept of Beauty and Glory in from the two Perspectives of Perception and Manifestation

Abstract

The crisis of identity and the lack of clear theoretical foundations in the construction of religious buildings that are rooted in the deep meanings of Islamic philosophy is one of the challenges of today’s . A lack that has had adverse results not only in the process of creating architecture but also in recognizing and intervening past buildings. Therefore, more research is needed on concepts such as beauty and glory, which are recognizable both in the nature of architectural works and in their perception. Considering that the concepts of beauty and glory have always been studied under the subject of beauty, first a specific theoretical framework was developed that expresses two different views on beauty. The aesthetic categories, from which the concepts of beauty and splendor are defined, are elaborated in the next step. Then, the concept of beauty and glory, derived from the theoretical framework, is accomplished. This section initiated from qualitative concepts and purely theoretical topics and finally reached quantitative-qualitative results in architecture. In the end, certain parameters were stated that, on the other hand, determine what are the attributes of the two words beauty and glory of manifestation and what effect they have on the audience. Research in terms of purpose is an applied research and in terms of strategy falls into the category of descriptive-analytical research. In addition, analytical-historical research methods have been used, particularly in past artworks and monuments. The collection of information in the field of theory has been done with library studies and with the help notetaking methods.

Research objectives: 1- Explaining the position of the concepts of beauty and glory in different approaches to Islamic aesthetics 2- Achieving how to realize the concepts of beauty and glory in Islamic architecture Research questions: 1- From what approaches can the position of beauty and glory under the subject of beauty in the Islamic world be explained? 2- How are the concepts of beauty and glory realized in Islamic architecture?

glory ؛beauty ؛perception ؛Keywords: manifestation

Introduction

Lack of codified studies, whether in the process of creating architecture and in particular, the creation of religious buildings or in recognizing the works of the past, is a problem that on the one hand has led to the construction of buildings devoid of deep meanings arising from Islamic thought and on the other hand, evoke interventions without proper and sufficient knowledge in the architectural heritage of the predecessors, which have destroyed the originality and spirit of those spaces. This issue can be considered from two viewpoints, first, what concepts should be constructed or historic buildings that are being intervened, and second, what effects the intended concepts will lead to the audience. , tombs and mausoleums are the most significant buildings that lose their spirit and originality in this absence. According to studies, "beauty and glory" is one of the most important concepts that has been neglected in this process of construction and recognition. Therefore, the present article intends to study this concept. The hypothesis acknowledges that the concepts of beauty and splendor as manifestations of the attributes of the Supreme Divinity have been realized due to specific physical components and variable perceptual effects in architecture.

Regarding the concepts of beauty and glory in the field of art and literature, several works have been written so far. In studying the records of the subject, Ibn Arabi's writings, especially in the book of the conquests of , have described beauty and glory under the concept of manifestation (see Ibn Arabi, 1975). This work has always been used as the most important source by researchers in this field. In the field of semantics, Monk Aref, Minaabad (2012) in the article "Attributes of beauty and glory from the perspective of Islamic theology and mysticism", regardless of the artistic and aesthetic aspect of the concepts of beauty and glory, only to lexicology, terminology and explains and interprets the concepts of beauty and glory and puts them in the context of the Qur'an, commentaries, Islamic texts and finally Islamic mysticism (Aref Minaabad, 2012: 92-117). Zahra Rahnavard (2007), in an article entitled: "The manifestation of beauty and glory in painting and its reflection in demonic and dreadful creatures", has studied the concepts of beauty and glory in Iranian painting based on Ibn Arabi's theory of manifestation. On the basis that everything is a mirror of truth; It is considered beautiful, the two have not been imagined without each other. Glory, which is a manifestation of awe, anger and violence, is depicted with beautiful faces and appears beautifully. Using paradoxical interpretations such as handsome court, good-looking snakes, glorious killers and handsome dragons (Rahnavard, 2007: 87-95).

Mahnaz Shayestehfar (2006) in her article "Glory in Beauty, the Influence of the Prophet's Life on the Art of Painting and Architecture", considers Islamic art as an abstract art that contains a symbol and is opposed to visualism and conveys the high spiritual meanings’ moreover, she considers architecture and calligraphy to have more mystical and sublime meanings, which is done by cryptography and transmission of meanings through visual symbols (Shayestehfar, 2006: 1-3). In the field of aesthetics, the writings of Hekmatullah Mulla Salehi are the beginning of this subject in art and architecture. He has described the concepts of beauty and glory under the title of aesthetic categories in many writings and has placed these two concepts in the category of aesthetic categories such as elegance, grace, ugliness, tenderness, tragedy and comics. Articles such as: "Concepts of beauty and glory in the visual arts" (1994), "Beauty and glory in art (1994)," Architecture and glorious images "(1996)," Glory images in Islamic architecture of Iran "(1999)," Category Aesthetic aesthetics of elegance and some of its forms in the art of the Safavid period "(2006), in which he explains the objective and physical qualities and perceptual effects of the concepts of beauty and glory by mentioning examples in various arts.

Neda Soleimian in her dissertation "Manifestation of the glorious and beautiful attributes of God in the designs of the Abbasi Grand of " (2012) while examining the concept of the glorious and beautiful attributes of God from the perspective of the Qur'an, philosophy and mysticism, she has also explored the geometric motifs express the glorious attributes of God and Islamic motifs that express the aesthetic attributes of God; moreover, the calligraphy of the inscriptions shows the attributes of glory and beauty; just as the attributes of God's glory and beauty are in harmony with each other and are necessary and obligatory for each other, this feature is also manifested in geometric and Islamic motifs (cf. Salimian, 2012). Samaneh Jafar Mohammadi and Mojtaba Ansari (2015) in the article "Aesthetics (perfection and beauty) in architecture" while expanding the concept of beauty and studying it in different schools of Islamic thought and discussing aesthetics in architecture, finally to the beauty of beauty and they achieve glory in architecture. This article emphasizes that the source of beauty is God, God who has glory and honor and at the same time is beautiful and loves beauty. Aware of this issue, the Muslim architect based his design on beauty, glory and ultimately perfection portrays patterns and decorations that are symbols of beauty and the dimensions of the surfaces and the composition of the volumes show the glory (see Mohammadi and Ansari, 2014: 1-5).

Hamzehnejad and Khorasani Moghaddam (2012) in the article "Typology of Islamic tombs in Iran, based on the sacred concepts of simile, purification, beauty and glory" by developing criteria such as the role of interior space in receiving pilgrims, type of materials and hierarchy spatially, the tombs are divided into three categories: metaphorical-aesthetic, purgatory-glorious, combination of aesthetics-glorification and metaphorical-purgatory (middle of the two). Aesthetic benefits have qualities such as luxurious and varied materials, many decorations, bedding, mirror work, gilding, painting and seven-color tiles, and create a sense of compassion, kindness, intimacy and dependence. In contrast, glorious shrines have features such as simplicity, lack of spatial hierarchy, minimal variety of materials, minimal decorations, rough and matte texture, simple brickwork and general tiling, and create a sense of solidity, awe and fear in the audience. (Hamzehnejad and Khorasani, 2012: 109-128). In the article Khoshkalam and Hamzehnejad (2012) entitled "Aesthetics of mosques in the context of styles, from majesty to tenderness)" the subject of beauty and glory in the architectural methods of post-Islamic Iran to the contemporary period has been studied. Geometric order, balance, symmetry and attention to detail are defined as the characteristics of aesthetic buildings that their perceptual effect on relaxation, satisfaction, admiration and friendliness with the audience is expressed. On the other hand, the dominance of meaning over the face, sculptural combination, splendor and grandeur, dynamism, weight and scale-breaking, are among the glorious qualities of the building, which are a sense of stability and maturity, respectful fear, love of survival and eternity and desire for infinity. According to this article, Khorasani style; Jamali, Razi; Jamali- Jalali, Azeri; Jalali, Isfahani; Aesthetic and contemporary are a combination (Khosh-Kalam and Hamzehnejad, 2012: 1- 11). With these interpretations, it should be said that the careful study and analysis of beauty and glory in art requires the achievement of a specific and coherent model, this paper intends to take the issue of beauty and glory in architecture one step further and provide specific criteria that are derived from these two paths.

Conclusion Islamic architecture, in parallel with Islamic culture, is a mixture of beauty and glory. Such research can lead to the creation of spaces that revive the deep meanings of the original buildings of Islamic architecture that have been forgotten for some time. Also, the specific feeling that each space should create and the effect it has on the audience's perceptual system should be based on a theoretical basis. In this way, each architectural work can have an aesthetic or glorious quality according to the wishes of the designer and the atmosphere required by the design, and put the audience in a pre-desired position. Like the emotional arousal that comes from being in the architectural spaces of the past. In a general summary, the topics can be summarized as follows. Explaining and analyzing the subject, from the trilogy of "pre-modern and modern", "transcendent and tangible" and "traditionalism and realism" to the two general approaches of "manifestation" and "perception", which beauty and the following two general perspectives can be researched both in terms of content and impact on the audience. In the semantics of beauty and glory of the two propositions that relate to the "what" of the subject, another part of the discussion was a search for the main question, "how." That the concepts of beauty and glory are realized in art and especially in Islamic architecture. Beauty is the manifestation of attributes such as kindness, goodness, mercy, justice and richness and in the system of perception of the audience; It brings peace, joy, admiration and intimacy. The aesthetic spaces are bright, full of light, full of decoration, melodious and luxurious. In contrast, glory is the manifestation of attributes such as anger, awe, greatness, poverty and doom, and evokes feelings of fear, sadness, astonishment, encirclement and repulsion in the audience's perceptual system. In architecture, it can be achieved in dark, massive, monochrome, solid and dark spaces.

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